On the high-speed rollercoaster of life and business, situations can often become gut churning. Your attitude can be the key to either locking the door to success or opening it.

Attitude determines the strength of values

An attitude is defined as a tendency to respond either positively or negatively towards an idea, person, situation or object. Our attitudes influence our choice of action, and our responses to the challenges, incentives, and rewards in life. We’ve all had to deal with the doom and gloomers. They are constantly dissatisfied and on the search for a better job, which they never find no matter how many times they job-hop simply because they take their attitude with them. Then there are those people who will assess a situation and do their best to turn challenges into opportunities. People with great attitudes will bring strength to the company values. While some people may be happy to work for someone there are those who are driven to create businesses of their own. We need to look at the attitudes and values that drive an entrepreneur.

What is an entrepreneurial attitude and how do I develop it?

An entrepreneur will step in where other people will run – they see the opportunities and challenges in problematic situations. They are willing to ride out the storm, as they know there will be clear weather on the other side. They subscribe to the saying, “The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets,’ advice attributed of Baron Rothschild, the English nobleman who bought up bonds and property cheaply in the panic preceding the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo and amassed a fortune. The Rothschild’s today are synonymous with wealth.

An entrepreneur is a risk taker. Entrepreneurs use their communication and management skills to leverage financial and material resources to make their dreams a reality. The entrepreneur looks at the various aspects of what he is planning to do, relies on experts for their input and organizes a venture that will take advantage of an opportunity. Developing an entrepreneurial attitude can help you engineer the life you always wanted to live.

Starting out

Core values tend to be laid down at out outset of business start-up. Without values, ethics, and integrity it is virtually impossible to build a business that will last. If they are thoughtfully defined core values will stand the test of time as they define an organization, embracing the set of skills and behaviors the company subscribes to.

Finding those who share your values

It is important to attract the right people who embody the core values rather than try to make them fit the organizations values. When searching for new members of the team choose ones not only with the right qualifications and experience, but people whose values and attitudes resonate with those of the company leaders. However, top performers do tend to seek out organizations whose values appeal to them!

Finding resonance in values

When you have a fulfilled team whose values function as the enduring roots of the organization then, like a tree, all growth can be based on them – even if the tree loses a few limbs or is lashed by a cyclone there is still a chance to grow again. Words on office walls don’t define a company – how its directors and employees behave and where energy and resources are invested determine the values. And values should not be so broad that they fit everyone. After all your business is specialized so generic values won’t suffice.

Maintaining awareness

Values and attitudes are created through the interactions of the organization, the field in which the business operates and the community it functions within. We have moved away from regarding people as ‘consumers’. Now we talk of ‘customers’, for whom we personalize services and products. We have moved away from being uncaring and ignorant of the environmental impact of business activities to awareness of fragile eco-systems and a move to sustainable usage. For the few companies still acting irresponsibly there are plenty of governmental and NGO watchdogs to keep them in line!

Focus on the user

Ask yourself why you are in business. I know that I am in business to help others create winning organizations. I know the pitfalls – I have fallen into them but I have got myself out and have created successful businesses for myself and for people I have partnered with and mentored. It’s my mission to share my passion for developing businesses and franchises on a global level. This is my WHY. If you want to know more about your why then see our blog post finding your Why.

Pharmaceutical companies are emerging from a bad rap – they originally went into business to help patients but gradually that value was blurred and the bottom line became more important. Today those companies who have concentrated their efforts on patient centricity – that is putting the patient first, even at the expense of the profits, has paid off. By focusing on the users everything else has followed. There is a flow of information from patients and healthcare professionals to the company enabling them to supply what is needed – not what they think is needed – building trust and ultimately the profitability has also improved. This is true for almost every business. We need to keep sight of the fact that we are in business to help people – whether it’s to help them run their companies better, make a delicious cup of coffee, have their hair expertly styled or find the medicine to cure cancer doesn’t matter. Every business is there to add value to people’s lives

Core values help assess performance.

How closely your employees subscribe to the company core values and their attitude should determine how they are rewarded, not just sales figures or number of years spent at university or year spent behind a desk at the company.

Let’s take the example of a salesperson working for a luxury German automobile manufacturer who did 5 deals a month of new top-of-the-range vehicles. This lady would give impeccable service as the company prided itself on its customer service. A new salesman joined the dealership and proceeded to write 10 sales in his first month. Guess who took home more cash and received company incentives? You guessed it - the lady doing five deals with excellent customer after sales service. The new guy had cash and points deducted because he simply could not get back to his customers to give them the service, which was one of the company values. The lady didn’t have to worry about where her next sales were coming from – her impeccable service always meant she was given more referrals than she actually needed by her happy clients.

Core values help you attract the right type of customers

Business is not only about price. Customers based on price aren’t loyal; they’re always chasing a better deal. Understandably everyone wants to see value for money but there are customers prepared to pay for a superior service and having values that affirm integrity and great service can help you retain those customers.

Core values create the company ethos

Companies that have turned traditional ways of doing business on its head like Airbnb, Google, Amazon.com, Zappo and Ikea have achieved a company ethos that sets them apart and is at the heart of their success.Click here (http://cultbranding.com/ceo/core-values/ ) to see their values.

Looking to the future

In many companies there is now a multigenerational workforce spanning four generations with age-based values and attitudes that may differ. The secret lies in aligning these values and attitudes to keep the company moving forward.

If you would like to know more about VALUES and ATTITUDES then check out www.thevisionlabs.com workshops and events.